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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
LONG distance runner Isaac Mpofu is leaving the country on Thursday for Spain for a training camp in Madrid ahead of this year’s World Championships.
The 2023 World Athletics Championships, the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, are scheduled to be held from August 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary.
Mpofu believes his trip to Spain will assist him become a much improved runner as he seeks to perform well in Hungary.
“l am excited to be headed for Spain. This can only aid in me becoming a better athlete. The goal is to do well at the World Championships and l will certainly put in the work,” said Mpofu.
The 34-year became the first Zimbabwean to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. He qualified with the time he ran at the Valencia Marathon in December last year, where he finished a credible 12th in two hours, six minutes and 48 seconds. The event fell within the qualifying window, which is between November 1, 2022 and April 30, 2024.
Athletes will be able to qualify in two ways for the 2024 Olympic Games, with half coming through the qualification places based on achieving the entry standard for an event within the qualification period.
The other way will be based on the World Athletics Ranking within the ranking period. The qualification and ranking period for all individual events other than the 10 000m, marathon, combined events and race walks will be between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. For the 10 000m, combined events, race walks and relays, the qualification and ranking period will be between December 31, 2022 and June 30, 2024, while for the marathon the period will be between November 1, 2022 and 30 April 2024. All performances must be achieved during competitions organised or authorised by World Athletics, its area associations, or its national federations in accordance with its rules and published on the World Athletics Global calendar. — @innocentskizoe
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